Orange County’s culinary celestial sky got a touch dimmer after Costa Mesa’s Hana re, noted for its kaiseki-style sushi, lost its one-star status this year.
California’s culinary sect converged on the Safe Credit Union Performing Arts Center in Sacramento on Wednesday, June 25 for the annual announcement of the 2025 Michelin stars, revealing which eateries across the Golden State earned, or lost, a celestial honor.
Hana re was awarded its star in 2019 and retained it until this year.
While no new stars were awarded to Orange County’s food landscape, Knife Pleat in Costa Mesa and R|O-Rebel Omakase in Laguna Beach retained their one-star rankings.
Two new three-star restaurants were added to California’s trifecta club, giving Los Angeles its first ever three-star restaurants: Somni, chef Aitor Zabala’ Spanish tasting menu restaurant in West Hollywood (‘somni” is Catalan for “dream”) and Providence, chef Michael Cimarusti’s California seafood spot in Hollywood, became Los Angeles’s first three-Michelin-starred restaurant.
“The tasting menu blends classic technique with a modern sensibility, global inspiration, and sources the freshest and most sustainable seafood, often wild-caught from American waters,” wrote Michelin inspectors of Providence. “At no point during the meal will you doubt its impeccable quality, especially while savoring dishes such as a tart of lobster mousse and box crab set in a crab beurre blanc, or roasted monkfish with cauliflower and shaved black truffles. Longstanding signatures like the soft-poached egg with uni and breadcrumbs or salt-roasted Santa Barbara spot prawns make for luxurious add-ons.”
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The inspectors praised Somni’s reawakening (it had shuttered during the pandemic, under a different chef), writing, in part, “Tucked away just off Santa Monica Ave., the dining room’s soothing, creamy palette with light wood and glass is marked by a colorful bull’s head from the original spot, hinting at the Spanish-inflected cuisine. A procession of small bites is meticulously arranged and endlessly creative, sating diners with an abundance of rich flavors and textural interplay (think mussel escabeche, gazpacho, or the iconic shiso tartare tempura).”
California is now home to eight three-starred restaurants – the most of any U.S. state – which include Addison by William Bradley (San Diego), Atelier Crenn (San Francisco), Benu (San Francisco), Quince (San Francisco), SingleThread (Healdsburg), the French Laundry (Yountville) and now Proviednce (Hollywood) and Somni (West Hollywood).
Other Los Angeles winners included Japanese/sushi spot Mori Nozomi (one star) and contemporary Korean eatery Restaurant Ki (one star).
Enclos in Sonoma and Kiln in San Francisco were awarded two-star status, while Lilo in Carlsbad, Silvers Omakase in Santa Barbara and Sun Moon Studio in Oakland received one-star ratings.
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Michelin Guide’s award system is ranked on a three-tier system: one star (“high-quality cooking, worth a stop,” according to the official guide), two stars (“excellent cooking, worth a detour”) and three stars (“exceptional cuisine, worth a journey”).
For nearly a century, the awarding of Michelin stars has been an annual high-stakes moment that, at times, can either make or break a restaurant. Unlike the James Beard Foundation’s annual awards, which only recognize gastronomic talent based in the United States, Michelin bestows its stellar honors globally.
Michelin Guide notes that its anonymous inspectors are “experts in food, dining and hotel sectors with many years of experience working in the hospitality industry.” The unidentified food critics aren’t freelancers; they’re employees of the Michelin Group who pay for their own meals (in other words, no comped meals), with no outside affiliation.
According to Michelin, inspectors rate eateries following the five criteria: quality of products, mastery of flavor and cooking techniques, personality of the chef represented in the dining experience, harmony of flavors and consistency between visits.
The Michelin Guide was first published in 1900 as a free booklet created by the Michelin brothers, André and Edouard, to promote car travel and tire sales. The guide started awarding Michelin star ratings in 1926.
Here is the complete updated 2025 list of all Michelin-starred restaurants in California (* denotes new entry):
3 STARS (8)
- Addison (San Diego)
- Atelier Crenn (San Francisco)
- Benu (San Francisco)
- *Providence (Hollywood)
- Quince (San Francisco)
- Single Thread (Healdsburg)
- *Somni (West Hollywood)
- The French Laundry (Yountville)
2 STARS (14)
- Acquerello (San Francisco)
- Aubergine (Carmel by the Sea)
- Birdsong (San Francisco)
- Californios (San Francisco)
- Commis (Oakland)
- *Enclos (Sonoma)
- Harbor House (Elk)
- Hayato (Los Angeles)
- *Kiln (San Francisco)
- Lazy Bear (San Francisco)
- Mélisse (Santa Monica)
- Saison (San Francisco)
- Son’s & Daughters (San Francisco)
- Vespertine (Culver City)
1 STAR (65)
- 7 Adams (San Francisco)
- 715 (Los Angeles)
- Angler SF (San Francisco)
- Auberge du Soleil (Rutherford)
- Auro (Calistoga)
- Bell’s (Los Alamos)
- Camphor (Los Angeles)
- Caruso’s (Montecito)
- Chez Noir (Carmel by the Sea)
- Citrin (Santa Monica)
- Cyrus (Geyserville)
- Gucci Osteria da Massimo Bottura (Beverly Hills)
- Gwen (Los Angeles)
- Heritage (Long Beach)
- Hilda and Jesse (San Francisco)
- Holbox (Los Angeles)
- Jeune et Jolie (Carlsbad)
- Kali (Hollywood)
- Kato (Los Angeles)
- Kenzo (Napa)
- Kin Khao (San Francisco)
- Knife Pleat (Costa Mesa)
- Le Comptoir at Bar Crenn (San Francisco)
- *Lilo (Carlsbad)
- Localis (Sacramento)
- Madcap (San Enselmo)
- Meteora (Los Angeles)
- Mister Jiu’s (San Francisco)
- *Mori Nozomi (Los Angeles)
- Morihiro (Los Angeles)
- n/naka (Los Angeles)
- Nari (San Francisco)
- Niku Steakhouse (San Francisco)
- Nisei (San Francisco)
- Nozawa Bar (Beverly Hills)
- O’ By Claude Le Tohic (San Francisco)
- Orsa & Winston (Los Angeles)
- Osteria Mozza (Los Angeles)
- Pasta|Bar (Encino)
- Plumed Horse (Saratoga)
- Press (Saint Helena)
- Protégé (Palo Alto)
- R|O-Rebel Omakase (Laguna Beach)
- *Restaurant Ki (Los Angeles)
- San Ho Won (San Francisco)
- Selby’s (Atherton)
- Shibumi (Los Angeles)
- Shin Sushi (Encino)
- *Silvers Omakase (Santa Barbara)
- Six Test Kitchen (Paso Robles)
- Soichi (San Diego)
- Sorrel (San Francisco)
- Ssal (San Francisco)
- State Bird Provisions (San Francisco)
- *Sun Moon Studio (Oakland)
- Sushi Inaba (Torrance)
- Sushi Kaneyoshi (Los Angeles)
- The Kitchen (Sacramento)
- The Progress (San Francisco)
- The Restaurant at JUSTIN (Paso Robles)
- The Shota (San Francisco)
- The Village Pub (Woodside)
- Uka (Los Angeles)
- Valle (Oceanside)
- Wakuriya (San Mateo)
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